Buy my art.. cheap!

I have these 3 pieces up for sale on ebay at the moment, bidding starting at $3-4.
These are drawings I truly love, and they represent different moments of happiness and utter strangeness in my life.

Click the images to see the auction. Thanks guys!

No Escape



Frankentext


Lollapop v2.0


Happy bidding! Thanks in advance.

Finished Detour illustration.

Here's my finish for my inside feature in the next issue of DETOUR coming out in February.
I'm really pleased with how this came out, and I think I'm addicted to halftones.

Things are very good in my life right now. I'm pumping out artwork like a mad woman, making money (finally *cry*), earning respect from important people and creating stronger friendships. I've rearranged my room yet again (my neurotic behavior at work), and I'm liking the world right now. I DO need to lose a few pounds though. When you go from no food to FREE HOLIDAY FOOD ALL THE TIME, you can sometimes lose control.

Oh, and I'm kind of falling in love with somebody. Which is always nice.
heeeee. <3


OK BYE.

For my aunt.

Piece commissioned by my sister for my favorite Auntie Sue for Christmas, which I started/finished on Christmas day. I am AWESOME at deadlines.
Anywhoozle, my aunt has researched our family's history back hundreds of years, so I wanted to put a more recent kind of spin on our family coat of arms. Or at least I think it's our family coat of arms.

Hope everyone had an excellent Christmas! So far today I laid around sick, watched about 8 hours of a House marathon, and ate a hundred brownies. Yay!

Lollapop.

Screwing around in photoshop.
I've been in a very good mood!! <3

Portland adventures.

I went to Maine this past weekend to visit the very lovely Jared, and we had a very lovely time. We went sledding in a blizzard, made delicious food, went out for more delicious food, watched some badass movies, and generally had the most wonderful time I've had in a long time. I got to meet quite a few of his close friends, and they were all awesome. And I got to see the lights I've been dying to see in Portland for at least a couple of years now - they were lovely. <3

All in all, Jared is one of the best people I've ever met. He's been kind, and supportive, and he loves my art, and he went out of his way to really make me feel special this weekend. And his mum's Indonesian meatball soup is to die for. *drool* So I can't wait to see him again, and I feel like things truly are looking up for me lately with his help. <3

Pictures!

Still in Maine.

We got some MAD snow yesterday, and it's trying to destroy the whole town and my precious Californian skin.

I have met so many wonderful people since I've been staying at Jared's, and I can honestly say I haven't enjoyed myself so much in quite a while. It's going well with the good streak I've been having, with the Pop Euphoria show, and Detour, and my family getting closer, and my view of myself as a person and an artist becoming more positive by the day.

Things are looking up for this little girl. Better update later. And lots of pictures!

Zach Johnsen

What else can I say besides HOLY SHIT?

LOTS MORE OF HIS WORK HERE.

Finished Detour linework.

I'm so good at super complex backgrounds.

Detour Illustration sketch

Here's a sketch I started for one of the pages of DETOUR 12 coming out in February, which will be featuring my work on the cover. The book is an anthology of comics created by the Undercover Fish team, with AMAZING artists that I'm amazed by, so it's worth picking up. DO IT OR I'LL MAKE YOU.

Either way, I had tried to start comics, but I'm having a lot of trouble writing something funny and then illustrating it with characters. I only recently started drawing the same characters from different angles, so comics are something I'm not quite at yet. But I will be! One day!

Other than that, just waiting for final reviews to happen on Friday. I have to write a 2-page analysis on a poem by then and finish creating the rest of my labels. Otherwise, as of yesterday, all work = done, printed, cropped, finished. I stayed in my studio for a lot of late nights, only to come home to do more work, just so I'd be able to relax starting this week. I refuse to be running around like a chicken with my head cut off. After all, after reviews, it doesn't mean I don't have more work to get done, so I may as well not build myself up for this big vacation when I'll be working through it. The work doesn't bother me - with every piece I do, I improve, and that's what's most important to me.

Got a cute haircut too! It was my biggest Christmas present, and now my hair is short and cute and a pretty chocolatey brown color. I LOVE IT. I'm never dying my hair blue again. Or red, for that matter *shakes fist*.

But life is good. I'm grinning ear to ear these days. Money's incredibly tight this year for my family (as I'm assuming it is for every other family - ugh), so it's handmade gifts for everybody this year. ;D Yeah, I'm cheap. So sue me.

AND AND AND I might be considered for a job as one of my FAVORITE artist's assistant after I graduate, which would make me a very happy Bamcat, and it would mean that I could stay in Boston instead of moving away. So yay! Wish me luck!

We are

We are a happy Bamcat, these days.

Let's get finals over with!!

So.

Went to Portland last night for Jared's birthday. Surprised the SHIT out of him, at 11 'o' clock at night. I gave him the presents I bought/made for him, and it was great. I woke up at 7 in the morning in a different state and got ready to take the bus back home. It was a very different place to be, and I was really excited to be there. I'm still really happy about the whole situtation. Props to Eric for helping it happen! *<3!* style="font-weight: bold;">due 1/1
-Comic strip/illustration
-bio
Black and White book due 12/16
-submissions/cover illustration?
T-shirt contest due ?
-waiting until next semester, too much pressure put on by the illustration department with no training, and especially no benefits.
Degree Project due 1/26
-10 page research paper on my topic
-two complete pieces to show by next semester, possibly done in the style of my Detour cover
Gallery show due 4/09
-Due for the spring, work on 12 pieces regarding wierd relationships between hot chicks and monsters/robots/aliens


Despite all the sadness in my life lately, I'm done pretty well.


ALSO: My business cards came out wrong. ARJIHGOSHGFL.

Stuff I've been working on.

So these are a few of my final pieces I've been working on. I'm happy to FINALLY be done with some of these. So enjoy.

Dracula cover-A modern take on an old classic - this will be featured in Andy Fish's graphic novel about Dracula, so that's very exciting!

Johnny Cupcakes ad
-We were to do a mockup for a potential Johnny Cupcakes ad. I wanted to do something cheesey and sparkly and pink and really digitally nauseating, so here it is.

Little paintings
-Little gifts for friends I've been doing just to keep myself from going insane.


Life is hellish right now. But good things are keeping me going.
More interesting update later.

Changing my degree project. Again.

I'm not doing a children's book anymore. I don't want to be a children's book artist. I don't want to be an artist who draws for children. If I see a kid's book, I'm going to throw it out the window. Then I'll go outside and stomp on it. And spit fire on it.

I hate that I had to change my idea so many times for this project - I like to GET an idea, love that idea, and bring it to finish and love it more. I don't like having to rethink my goals in life over a drawing. I want to feel successful when I finish something, not insecure about it. Fuck what my teacher wants - I'm doing what I want.

What I want is to have a portfolio of art that I'm in love with. Art that means something to me, that expresses growth. I don't want a portfolio of A+'s. I don't want a gold star. I WANT to be happy with what I'm doing and to give anyone who tells me to stop a fist in the face.

I realized tonight that life is unpredictable. Life is emotional. Life is too short to take shit from people all the time. You need to do what makes you happy, even if it screws up some other things.

Let me tell you...

There is nothing I enjoy more than dragging my ass to MassArt at 8am on a Saturday morning in my scottie dog jammies to print out makeshift business cards. The ones I had ordered, with TWO-DAY shipping, never arrived. I'm gonna see if I can get reimbursed for the shipping - after all, why pay to get it in two days if it's coming in 6?

Either way, I am prepared for the Modus Lotus show tonight, and I can't wait! I have lots of yummy goodies for Toys For Tots, and so many people are coming! Yay! Excitement!! <3333

Progress.

My list of shit to do has decreased significantly. Kind of easing through the last few days - I have to work every day at Blick, but I know I'll get everything done, so I'm not stressed at the moment. The thing that worries me the most is for classes to be over and for me to slip into "vacation mode". I still have to make a comic for Detour 12, and I also have to write a poem analysis for the 18th and my 10-page research report for Degree Project over the break. Lots of stuff.

Tomorrow: POP EUPHORIA SHOW IN WORCESTER. Biggest moment of my life so far. I'm PSYCHED. My business cards never showed up, though, so I'll be running to the studios in the morning before work to print up some not-so-makeshift business cards for the event. YAY.

But just to update with some real arts, here you go, my progress for Illustration 4. It's going to say, "A cupcake is forever" and there's gonna be all sorts of pretty fluffy graphic designy shit around it. Yay! I'm just trying to have fun with it.

Tomorrow: POP EUPHORIA SHOW IN WORCESTER. Biggest moment of my life so far. I'm PSYCHED. My business cards never showed up, though, so I'll be running to the studios in the morning before work to print up some not-so-makeshift business cards for the event. YAY.

Half rant/half not

GOOD:

-Got invited to be in Veronica's Pop Euphoria show in Worcester this weekend. I'm so excited! I picked my mime piece about Hamlet. And I'm gonna try to bring toys for the childrens, as Toys For Tots is gonna be there. Try to make it if you can! It's gonna be a blast. :) Gotta mount my piece somehow tomorrow, even though it's 12" x 12 3/4". Haha.

-Got another piece done for Black and White today, along with a final sketch that I just have to convert into a scratchboard masterpiece. I want to make Dan Blakeslee proud.

-I had thought a piece for my fashion history class was due next week, but turns out it was due today, so I had to be a Tricky Vicky and draw it in class, ink it in class, print it out on the break (with help from Amanda with the rolly scanny things), color it in LESS than two minutes (very tastefully, I might add) and mount it onto foamboard. It looks awesome. I don't like doing work at the last minute, but at least it's done. Yay!

-My mom is OFFICIALLY cancer-free. Hooray! *HUGE sigh of relief* Yay Mummy!

-Jared has been very, very wonderful to me lately. He's been a really big support while I've been shoving push pins in my eyes through finals, and I'm excited to go see him! But first: FINISH WORK.

-New shoes came in the mail! I love them! And business cards tomorrow! Yay!

BAD:

-I'm really tired lately, and my acid reflux has been kicking in something fierce. It's from all the caffeine, sleep deprivation, unhealthy eating habits (or non-eating habits for that matter), constant stress, and just working as hard as I possibly can. It's all gonna be worth it though.

-Money really, really isn't doing so great these days. My rent was due a few days ago, as were the bills, and I've just been on the edge of my seat waiting for payday so I can kiss that money goodbye. I bought a new box of Cheez-its. Woo.

-I had to cancel my CAT scan (for my blinding migraines) for Monday because of the stupid Degree Project show. Everything for that is completely unorganized, especially the part where they want ALL the classes to be there but not critiquing kids from their own class but not having the artist present but not keeping all the work in one room and also trying to fit 40 students' process work onto maybe 8 tables in a very small room (914). That room has terrible lighting, too. They didn't even account for the fact that many students have class early on Mondays and wouldn't be able to bring it in at 11 unless they used their break from class. Blarfgkhjg.

-I REALLY need to dye my hair. The red needs to be gone. Now. Like, right now.


Ok, I'm done complaining now! Yay school! Yay everything! Yay Jared! <3
Time to go lay down. <3

Getting there

As per Sylvia's good example, I ordered some business cards off of overnightprints.com. They cost a lot of money. Money I do not have. But this is important, dammit. Ask me for one!

Looking forward to the gallery opening on Saturday, featuring the work of such wonderful people as my favorite, Lindsay Small, Alycia Garcia, Mark Reusch, and quite a few others. There's gonna be a Kaiju Big Battel suit and everything! And Andy Fish's Batman cowl.

Looking forward to that, getting finals done and trying not to spend too many nights in the studio past midnight. But I usually do my best work past midnight, so whatever.

Had a fantastic day today, and I'm feeling like the rest of the week is going to go really well. Yay for finishing work and making everybody proud!

NEW LIST OF THINGS TO WORK ON:

-Degree Project Due 12/8
a. Superimposed book layout printed
b. Label explaining my piece
-Illustration 4 Due 12/9
a. Putting my Juxtapoz piece into context
b. Color Johnny Cupcakes piece
-Black and White Illustration Due 12/10
a. Finish Gorilla, Unexpected piece
b. Scratchboard film noir piece (sketch + finish)
-Fashion History Due 12/10
a. Coat of Arms
-Poetry Due 12/18
a. 3-page analytical essay
-Detour Due 1/1
a. Bio page
b. Comic (not even started)

Eeeeeee

Feeling stupidhappy today. And lovely. And pretty.

Today is going to be a gorgeous day.

FINALS FINALFKS FINAFKLLS

I spend most of my nights with lots of quiet. And lonely. Lots of quiet and lonely.
But I'm not so sad anymore - it's time to buckle down for finals and pump out some sweet artwork. These are some things I'm working on:

-Degree Project DUE 12/8
a. Quail Dobbs rodeo clown painting DONE
b. Quail Dobbs rodeo clown background painting 30%
c. Finished sketches for Bozo the clown painting 0%
-Illustration 4 DUE 12/9
a. Johnny Cupcakes ad 40%
b. Dracula pinup 70%
-Black and White Illustration
a. Gorilla block print 0%
b. Gorilla painting 0% DUE 12/3
c. "If The Cement Shoe Fits" final sketches 0%
d. "If The Cement Shoe Fits" scratchboard piece 0% DUE 12/10
-Fashion History DUE 12/10
a. Personal coat of arms 0%
-Contemporary Poetry DUE 12/18
a. 3-page analytical essay 0%
-Christmas Cards
a. Sketch DONE
b. Coloring/printing out/distributing 0%
-Coat of Arms Christmas present
a. Sketch 0%


I have a loooooot of work to do! Time to buy a bunch of low-carb Monster drinks and some more Cheez-its and live in my studio for a while. I've picked up some more hours at work as well, so it's going to be busybusybusy for Bamcat for a few weeks.

But!! Once reviews are over, I get to enjoy some time off and head up to Maine for a bit to hang out with some good friends and one particularly excellent, wonderful, and attractive friend who's gonna take me on a date. <3 I'm very excited!!! I'm also dying my hair brown soon. The red is too hard to take care of, and my hair needs time to relax, I think. So look out for that! Time to get some sleep so I can work my ass off all day tomorrow! Night!

(The awesome Christmas lights up in Portland during the winter! Part of my motivation to work hard and get this stuff done! I can't wait!!!)